The Carson Valley Inn and Bodines Casino, sister properties owned by Mike Pegram, presented a check on Monday for $15,000 to the Carson Tahoe Healthcare Foundation for the Carson Tahoe Cancer Center. The donation was the result of a Play for the Cure cancer awareness promotion run by the two casinos during October.
The $15,000 total accumulated from a variety of player activities during October. Some donations were a result of swipe prizes which also included a donation the Cancer Center by the casinos in the player's name. Other donation amounts were drawn by players in addition to a prize they had already won.
"People loved the idea," said Deanna Lucier, casino host at the Carson Valley Inn. "I think almost everyone knows a family member or friend who has, or had, cancer in their life. So, this promotion really hit home with a lot of folks. We also had many customers who were not even picked to draw a prize who just gave us money to donate. Every time I announced how much we raised so far during this promotion, people in the casino cheered and clapped and it felt really good that we could make a difference."
Carson Valley Inn casino host Julia Potter agreed.
"This was very personal to a lot of our guests as well as employees," Potter said. "The bigger the dollar amount a guest drew from the donation basket, the happier they were."
Bodines Casino General Manager Steve Forester said the response from their guest was very positive.
"What I heard most was their appreciation to be included in the process," he said. "At the final drawing I thanked everyone for their help in reaching our goal and loud applause could be heard throughout the casino."
